Karl Urban
| birth_place = Wellington, New Zealand | other_names = | education = St Mark's Church School | alma_mater = Wellington College | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1990–present | children = 2 | spouse = }} | partner = Katee Sackhoff (2014–2018) }} Karl-Heinz Urban (born 7 June 1972) is a New Zealand actor. His career began with appearances in New Zealand films and TV series such as Xena: Warrior Princess. His first Hollywood role was in the 2002 horror film Ghost Ship. Since then, he has appeared in many high-profile movies, including the second and third installments of The Lord of the Rings trilogy in the role of Éomer. He has also portrayed Leonard McCoy in the ''Star Trek'' reboot film series, Vaako in the ''Riddick'' film series, and Judge Dredd in Dredd. Since 2019, he has starred in Amazon's web television series The Boys. Early life Urban was born in Wellington, New Zealand. His father, a German immigrant, owned a leather goods store, and his mother once worked for Film Facilities in Wellington. Through his mother, the young Urban was exposed to classic New Zealand cinema and developed an interest in the film industry. Urban attended St Mark's Church School, where he showed an early love for public performance. His first acting role came at age eight, when he had a single line in one episode of the New Zealand television series Pioneer Woman. Though continuing to take part in school stage productions, he did not act professionally again until after high school. He attended Wellington College in 1986–1990. He then enrolled at Victoria University of Wellington in the Bachelor of Arts program but left after one year to pursue a career in acting. Over the next few years, he appeared in several local TV commercials in addition to theater roles in the Wellington area. Eventually he moved to Auckland, where he was offered many guest roles in TV shows (one of which was playing a heroin addict in the police drama Shark in the Park). Urban then moved briefly to Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia in 1995, before returning to New Zealand the following year. Career New Zealand roles Urban was seen on the internationally syndicated American/New Zealand TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and on its spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess, in which he played the recurring roles of both Cupid and Julius Caesar from 1997 to 2001. He also made appearances as Mael in the episode "Altared States" from the first season of Xena, then as Kor in the episode "Lifeblood" from the fifth season. Both programs were filmed in New Zealand. In 2001, he appeared in the offbeat rural romance The Price of Milk, for which he received his first nomination at the New Zealand Qantas Film and Television Awards. Urban later won acclaim for his portrayal of policeman Nick Harvey in Out of the Blue, a dramatisation of New Zealand's Aramoana massacre, for which he won the Qantas Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2008. International roles Urban's first Hollywood role was in the 2002 horror film Ghost Ship. Since then, he has worked on many high-profile movies, including the second and third installments of The Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Two Towers and The Return of the King) as Eómer, The Bourne Supremacy (as Russian Federal Security Service agent Kirill), The Chronicles of Riddick, Star Trek and Doom. The Hollywood Reporter speculated that Urban was one of several actors being considered for the part of British secret service agent 007 in Casino Royale, directed by fellow New Zealander Martin Campbell.http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001051319 However, he was unable to make the audition because of filming commitments. The role eventually went to Daniel Craig. Urban played John "Reaper" Grimm in Universal Pictures' Doom (based on the first-person shooter video game Doom), which was released on 21 October 2005. In 2007, he starred in the Viking adventure Pathfinder. A longtime fan of Westerns,Karl Urban rewinds TV favorites, 10 January 2008 Urban appeared as Woodrow Call in Comanche Moon, the CBS miniseries prequel to Lonesome Dove, in January 2008. In 2009, he played Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, a role famously originated by DeForest Kelley, in the [[Star Trek (film)|eleventh Star Trek film]].And Karl Urban as McCoy!, 17 October 2007Urban, Pine join Abrams' 'Star Trek', 18 October 2007Karl Urban: From Comanche Moon's Old West to Star Trek's Exciting Future, 11 January 2008Urban Talks Trek Characters and Production Design, 11 January 2008 A fan of the Star Trek franchise since childhood, Urban actively pursued a role in the film. His performance was widely embraced by the Star Trek fan community for its faithfulness to the spirit of Kelley's McCoy. In 2009, he appeared as himself in the documentary film Reclaiming the Blade, discussing his sword-wielding experience in films such as The Lord of the Rings. Urban next appeared as CIA agent William Cooper in Red, adapted from the graphic novel of the same name and co-starring Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren.Interview: Karl Urban on the set of RED, 15 July 2010 He portrayed Black Hat, a villainous priest-turned-vampire, in the film adaption of the Korean manhwa Priest, released in 3-D in 2011. In 2012, Urban starred as law-enforcing comic book hero Judge Dredd in the film Dredd. In an interview with Shave magazine, Urban described it as a "high-octane, action-fueled film... about the day in the life of Dredd". The film was directed by Pete Travis, with a script by Alex Garland. Though it underperformed at the box office, Dredd was well received by critics. He then reprised his role of "Bones" McCoy in the sequel to Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, which was released on 15 May 2013. In 2013, Urban starred as Detective John Kennex in Almost Human, a TV series created by J. H. Wyman. The series was set 35 years into the future when cops in the L.A.P.D. are paired up with lifelike androids. Urban played a detective who has a dislike for robots but ends up being teamed up with one with emotional feelings. Urban next appeared in the ensemble thriller The Loft, a remake of the Belgian film of the same name. It was filmed in New Orleans and Belgium by the director of the 2008 original, Erik Van Looy. In January 2015, Urban replaced Michael C. Hall as the main antagonist in the 2016 remake of Pete's Dragon. In 2017, he played Skurge in Thor: Ragnarok. Personal life Urban married his long time partner, Natalie Wihongi (who was his makeup artist for the 2000 television film The Privateers), in September 2004. Together they have two sons: Hunter, born 16 December 2000, and Indiana ("Indy"), born 28 June 2005 and named for the eponymous hero of the Indiana Jones franchise, the first movie of which he has cited as one of his favourites. They lived in their NZ$5.25 million mansion in the affluent Herne Bay section of Auckland, New Zealand. The couple announced their separation in June 2014, selling their home for NZ$6.65 million in December 2014. he was with Katee Sackhoff. Urban serves as a celebrity ambassador for KidsCan, a charity which currently supports over 16,000 disadvantaged children in New Zealand by providing them with essentials such as food, clothing and shoes. Filmography Film Television Video games References External links * * * * Category:1972 births Category:People educated at Wellington College (New Zealand) Category:Living people Category:New Zealand male film actors Category:New Zealand male stage actors Category:New Zealand male television actors Category:New Zealand male video game actors Category:New Zealand male voice actors Category:New Zealand people of German descent Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Wellington City Category:20th-century New Zealand male actors Category:21st-century New Zealand male actors Category:Male actors of German descent